Rewriting Greek and Indian Myth: The Evolution of Mythical Women in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad and Kavita Kané’s Sita’s Sister

Abstract

This article studies Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad (2005) and Kavita Kané’s Sita’s Sister (2014) and examines the contemporary retellings of Greek and Indian myths by a deliberatly posing female as its central notion. The study examines the traditional constructions of femininity which are rooted in chastity, fidelity, sacrifice, and silence, and rewrites it by the characters, Penelope and Urmila. By negotiating canonical epics The Odyssey and The Ramayana, the article understands the patriarchal frameworks that shaped women’s identities and confined them to subordinate roles within mythological narratives. The article studies fate, duty, art, and childhood conditioning, along with parental presence, matrimony, and political agency, to trace the evolution of mythical women from passive figures to assertive, reflective individuals. Margaret Atwood and Kavita Kané’s uses satire, introspection, and resistance to dismantle traditional perspectives and offer alternative ideologies on woman.